Boeing to layoff 220 workers in SC

Nearly 2,200 layoff notices went to workers in Washington and another 220 in South Carolina, the two states where Boeing builds commercial airliners. Boeing declined to comment on the layoffs on Monday.17 hours ago.

The financially struggling aerospace company announced the layoffs, expected to begin Jan. 17.

All but eight of the employees losing their jobs work in North Charleston, where the 787 Dreamliner is assembled. Also being let go is one person each working from Beaufort, Columbia, and Moncks Corner, as well as five employees in Charleston,

according to a federally required notice filed with the state employment agency.

“The Boeing Company has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce,” Elizabeth French, part of Boeing’s exit management team, said in the letter filed Nov. 18 with the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

Boeing reported a financial loss of more than $8 billion so far this year, with $6 billion of that coming between July and September. In response, CEO Kelly Ortberg announced in October the company would cut 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 employees nationwide.

About 2,200 Boeing employees in Washington state and Oregon also received notices this week that they would be laid of Dec. 20, five days before Christmas.

The layoffs follow a seven-week strike by 33,000 unionized machinists on the West Coast — mostly in Washington but also Oregon and California — as the company and union negotiated a new contract.